One Columbia Academy basketball program has already been eliminated in the MAIS AAA South State Tournament, while the other is among the favorites to win it all.
The Cougars (19-13) had a chance to earn a first-round bye in South State by claiming the district title last week but lost to Bowling Green 50-44 Feb. 5 to fall to second place in District 4.
That set up Monday’s first-round matchup with St. Aloysius that turned out to be a heartbreaker. Despite playing on their home floor, the Cougars struggled to get in a rhythm and lost 40-39 on the last play of the game.
After trailing by two points at the half, CA went on a 13-2 run to open the second quarter and seemed to have all of the momentum. However, St. Aloysius bounced back with a 9-0 run to send it to the fourth quarter tied 31-31.
The fourth quarter was nip and tuck the rest of the way, and the Cougars took a two-point, 39-37 lead with 28 seconds remaining after Ras Pace made one of two free throws. Jeffrey Pennigton had stepped to the free throw line on the previous possession and also made just one of two.
The Cougars fouled St. Aloysius with 10.8 seconds left, and the Flashes made both shots at the line to tie the game at 39-39. CA head coach Dale Watts called a timeout and tried to set up a potential game-winning play. However, St. Aloysius pressured the ball and trapped Ethan Stringer, who tried to get it to Pace at the last moment. The pass was deflected and the clock seemingly ran out with both teams fighting for the ball. But the referees instead called a foul on Pace as he went for the ball, put one second back on the clock and sent St. Aloysius, which was in the bonus, back to the charity stripe.
St. Aloysius’ Trinje’ Brown calmly stepped to the line and made the first free throw to win the game and eliminate the Cougars.
“We did a good job coming back and put ourselves in a position to win, but we missed some free throws down the stretch,” Watts said. “I really thought the time out was out — I didn’t see that last play. That was a bad situation to call a foul.”
Watts added the Flashes did a good job getting the Cougars out of their offense and forcing their tertiary playmakers to win the game.
“They double teamed Tate (Duncan) and paid a lot of attention to Ras, and they were leaving some of our secondary players open,” he said. “We hit some shots at one point there that really helped us, but we had a hard time maintaining that. They closed down there (inside) on us and we had a hard time making the pass and handling their pressure.”
Duncan, who has been CA’s best player all season, fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, which hindered the CA offense.
“He had a problem with that really all year long. That was the big kicker for us,” Watts said. “When he fouled out, it really hurt us offensively and put a lot of pressure on our ball handling with Ras, Hayes (Carley) and Ethan (Stringer), and (St. Aloysius) got real aggressive, which you would expect.”
Watts said he feels really good about the direction of the Cougars, who don’t have a single player graduating. The Cougars had five freshmen on the varsity squad, four of which played Monday, to complement the junior trio of Duncan, Pace and Stringer.
“We’ve been through a lot of changes where I’ve been trying to feel things out and give kids an opportunity. Sometimes it’s worked and sometimes it hasn’t,” he said. “But I believe there’s a lot of opportunity for next year. With everybody back I feel real good about those five freshmen that got experience this year, and they will give us more balance.”
Watts said the Cougars were too one dimensional this season, relying on their three key players, and by the time the playoffs roll around every team has had a chance to scout one another and CA needs that extra balance.
The Lady Cougars (25-8), meanwhile, earned a first-round bye in South State by winning the District 4 title with a perfect 6-0 record.
The Lady Cougars played Central Private School, who beat Porter’s Chapel 47-43 Monday, in the second round Wednesday, but results were unavailable at press time.
Watts said Tuesday he believed it would be a good matchup for the Lady Cougars prior to the game, but the main focus has been making sure everyone is healthy and ready to go after a couple of players missed school with the flu early in the week.
“I think we got a good first-round draw, and it shouldn’t be as bad as the boys’ draw. We just need to keep everybody as healthy as we can,” he said. “That’s the focus. Those are things, though, you can only do the best you can with.”
With a win over Central Private, the Lady Cougars would play either Silliman Institute or Hillcrest Christian in the semifinals Friday at 5:15.
Pictured Above: Columbia Academy's Ras Pace finishes a strong drive at the rim. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
